The present invention relates to a device and a method for reducing gas permeability in a refrigeration cycle. More particularly, the invention relates to a device and a method for reducing the permeability of a mobile refrigeration circuit for climate control in vehicles and refrigeration systems in general.
As is known, any energy transformation entails an impact on the environment, which can be harmful depending on the elements being used. For example, in the case of vehicle climate control, the corresponding energy transformation contributes to global warming in two ways: a direct one and an indirect one.
Direct warming occurs due to the dispersion into the atmosphere of the gas used in the climate control system.
Indirect heating occurs instead because the refrigeration cycle, particularly the compressor of the climate control device, absorbs power from the engine of the vehicle, i.e., uses fuel, which in turn produces carbon dioxide, which causes the greenhouse effect.
One of the solutions proposed in order to minimize direct contribution to the greenhouse effect is the use of gases that are alternative to the normal gases currently used in refrigeration cycles.
However, the use of these alternative gases entails the drawback that they reach pressures and temperatures for which the polymeric materials currently used for the tubing of the refrigeration device are unsuitable.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a device and a method for reducing the permeability of the gas used in a refrigeration cycle from the tubing through which it passes, regardless of which gas is used.
Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a device and a method for reducing gas permeability that can be used both for fixed installations of refrigeration systems, climate control systems and air conditioning systems, and for the same systems installed on vehicles.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device and a method for reducing permeability in air conditioning, climate control and refrigeration systems that are highly reliable, relatively simple to provide and at competitive costs.
This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a device for reducing the permeability of tubing in climate control, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, characterized in that it comprises means for recovering gas escaped by permeation from at least one tube that is at a first temperature and pressure, adapted to convey said permeated gas to a region of said system that is at a second temperature and pressure, said second pressure being lower than said first pressure.